Sitting here with my eyeballs burning from today's heavy screen use,
I’m reminded that technology is such a double-edged sword. On the one hand, technology has been
powerfully helpful this week: I’ve been able to Skype with my interview
subjects, Facetime with my family, Tweet with fellow teachers to coordinate
plans, and of course, keep up with the news (if there were an IV-drip of the
New York Times website, I would be on it). But on the other hand, all of that technology comes with the
heavy price tag of distraction.
How many of us sat through a lecture today without checking the group
Facebook page? It became a
secondary conversation, much of it with really valuable sites and resources
that I’ll be sure to put to use next year. But still, I can’t help but wonder about what moments were
lost.
I don’t mean to come off as a Luddite. I want my students to know how to use
all the great digital tools we have at our disposal. But I also wonder if there aren’t times when we should
create a space for them where it’s okay to unplug. It occurs to me that there are fewer and fewer occasions
when it’s acceptable for them to step away from their smartphones. In addition
to all the social networking sites they use, educators expect them to check
Edline, Blackboard or Edmodo for school.
Maybe, just maybe, the classroom should be a bit of a respite from
that. Maybe one of the skills we
should give them is the occasional ability to disconnect from the screen.
Jessica Nassau
Rockville High School
Rockville, Md.
I know what you mean by overload. It's been good for me though. I've learned so much. Now if I can just remember everything long enough to implement it.
ReplyDeleteRemembering long enough is the challenge. There will be something new and improved the next day! Technology changes so rapidly that keeping up is sometimes the hardest part. I try not to get so caught up in the "flavor of the day" and just focus on the basic tools of connection that will help us do our jobs better as journalists. Fads are just that, fads. The mainstays are the ones I pay particular attention to. The tools can be overwhelming at times, however they don't take the place of what is still considered good reporting.
DeleteEva D. Coleman
Frisco ISD Career and Technical Education Center
Frisco, Texas
I can definitely see your point here, Jessica. In the moment, I was thinking the exact opposite - that because our side conversations were so productive today, maybe (just maybe) my students were capable of that type of discussion too. But I'm not sure they have that level of maturity.
ReplyDeleteEither way, today has me thinking about technology in the classroom. I'm just not sure what that looks like yet.
Julieanne McClain
Rutherford B. Hayes High School
Delaware Ohio
Great post. This is definitely an important conversation. To challenge myself next week, I want to try to do some tweets or FB in real-time, but I am not sure I will like it.
ReplyDeleteCindy Reves
McKinley High School
Honolulu, Hawaii
Jessica, I felt the same way today. I was looking around at some people and I KNOW they weren't listening to the speaker. I checked the page a couple of times, but found that I wasn't able to focus on that while Dawn was talking. Maybe I'm just not as good as some people at multitasking. I didn't want to miss anything she was saying! In my classroom, I need to find my happy place where students can use their phones for class-related things but also where they won't get distracted so I don't have to repeat myself three times for the kid who was tweeting about the game last night.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the "disconnected time" is a time to focus on those interpersonal skills like introducing themselves to someone IN PERSON and learning how to shake someone's hand and make eye contact. Or how to interview someone and be in tune with all the priceless nuances that come with an in-person interview....
Balance.
Meghann Peterson
Chanhassen High School
Chanhassen, Minn.
Jessica, You and Meghann bring up some great points. I agree that students need to be able to either know when to unplug, or be able to unplug when asked and have that not be an issue. I find that many of my newspaper staff are getting lazy. They would rather email a source than get up and go talk to them. If I'm not on top of them, they'll send a text message to get a quote, or try to use Facebook for a photo of some event.
ReplyDeleteTheir personal skills are eroding to such a degree it goes beyond shyness. It gets so frustrating to me because I love "geeking out" over new tech, but at the same time the line of when it is appropriate seems to continue to blur into obscurity.
Brandon Michaud
Winnacunnet High School
Hampton, N.H.